Meat-securing device.



No. 628,546. Patented luly l-l, I899, J. PATTERSON.

MEAT SECURING DEVICE.

(Application filed Feb. 20, 1899.)

(No Model.)

m: uoams wzrzns co. Pno'Io-uruu. WASHINGTON, n. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN PATTERSON, OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THESWIFT & COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE AND CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MEAT-SECURING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 628,546, dated July 11,1899.

Application filed February 20,1899. Serial No. 706,178. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN PATTERSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at East St. Louis, in the county of St. Clair and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMeat-Securing Devices, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanyingdrawlugs.

In pork shoulders there is at one side of the main piece or butt a piecethat is separated from the main body portion by membraneous tissues andstreaks of fat, thus causing said piece to hang more or less looselyfrom the said body portion, and in the process of smoking the shouldersuch loose piece becomes still farther loosened and is very considerablydistorted, thus frequently necessitating the trimming off of such piecebefore the shoulder is placed on sale, as otherwise the shoulder as awhole will present an unattractiv'e appearance. Such trimming operationnecessarily involves a loss to the packer or butcher, as the part soremoved is of much less commercial value than if it remained as a partof the complete smoked shoulder. If the loose piece can be firmly heldagainst the body portion of the butt during the process of smoking andso held until the shoulder has cooled after such smoking, it will not benecessary to trim it off, as it will then remain in proper shape andposition, and consequently can be sold as a component part of theshoulder.

The object of my invention is to produce a device for so holding thesaid loose piece, which object I accomplish by constructing a holder asshown in the drawings and as hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front View of apork shoulder with my improved holder applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a sideview of the same, and Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the holder.

In the drawings, A indicates a pork shoulder, of which a'indicates theshank; b, the butt; 0, the loose piece of the butt, and d the streak offat and membraneous tissue lying between the portions 6 and c.

The holder, as shown in the drawings, consists of two heavy pieces ofwire twisted together at their central portion to form a head or handlepiece 1, each end of each wire being then bent away from such twistedhead 1 and lying in substantially the same horizontal plane as suchhead, thus forming rigid or integral arms 2 and again turned, this timedownward, to form integral prongs 3, the ends of which are preferablysharpened, as shown, to more readily enter the shoulder. As shown, inthe head or handle portion 1 is formed an eye 4, into which a suitabletool may be in= serted for readily withdrawing the device as a wholefrom the shoulder.

In use the prongs 3 of the holder are forced through theloose piece 0 ofthe shoulder A and penetrate the main or body portion 1) of the buttsufficiently far to be retained firmly therein, and by reason of thedistance between the several prongs pressure is extended over a largesurface of the piece 0, causing it to be pressed closely at many pointsagainst the body portionb of the butt. When the holder is so adjusted,the shoulder is to be suspend ed, as usual, by the cord e in thesmoke-house, and after removal therefrom, if the holder be allowed toremain in place until the shoulder is cooled, it will be found aftersuch holder has been withdrawn that the piece 0 will retain its shapeand its location against the body portion b of the butt, thus obviatingthe necessity of trimming oft the piece 0, which of course adds to thecommercial value of the shoulder as a whole.

That which I claim as my invention, and

desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described holder for securing meat in place, whichconsists in two wires twisted together to form a head, integral armsextending laterally in opposite directions from the ends of said headand in the same horizontal plane therewith, said arms being bent atsubstantially right angles to form piercing-prongs, substantially asdescribed.

2. The herein-described holder for securing meat in place, whichconsists in two wires twisted together to form a head havingintermediate its ends an eye, integral arms extending laterally inopposite directions from the ends of said head and in the samehorizontal plane therewith, said arms being bent at substantially rightangles to form piercingpro'ngs, substantially as described.

JOHN PATTERSON.

Witnesses:

V. R. CANTER, JAMES E. FULCHER.

